Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.65.

EW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Daiwa America cut shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance

Shares of EW opened at $73.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.42 and its 200-day moving average is $73.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Edwards Lifesciences has a 12 month low of $58.93 and a 12 month high of $96.12.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.67. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 70.82% and a return on equity of 20.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total value of $347,550.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,262,521.36. The trade was a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.91, for a total value of $1,647,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 198,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,084,848.66. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $2,323,150. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edwards Lifesciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Edwards Lifesciences in the third quarter worth $40,000. 79.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names.